Whorled milkweed

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Whorled milkweed in fruit

Whorled milkweed flowers

Whorled milkweed

Whorled milkweed

Whorled milkweed inflorescence

Whorled milkweed

Whorled milkweed pods

Whorled milkweed inflorescence

Whorled milkweed

Morphology

Stem

Erect, unbranched, somewhat angled, usually with lines of minute hairs extending downward from bases of leaves.

Leaves

Whorled, 3-6 per node, simple, sessile, crowded, erect to spreading, narrowly linear to filiform, 3/4 to 3 inches long, less than 1/10 inch wide, glabrous or minutely pubescent; margins entire, rolling under; tips pointed.

Inflorescence

Umbels, several, on stalks .5 to 1.5 inch long in axils of upper leaves, 6-20-flowered.

Flower

5-parted, about 1/4 inch tall, on thread-like stalks 1/4 to 1/2 inch long; calyx lobes triangular, green to purple-tinged, sparsely hairy to nearly glabrous; corolla lobes elliptic, glabrous, whitish green or sometimes purple-tinged, bent abruptly downward; hoods broadly oblong, erect, white; tips broadly rounded; horns slender, needle-like, arching inward.

Fruit

Pods, narrowly spindle-shaped, 3 to 4 inches long, 1/4 to 1/3 inch wide, glabrous or minutely hairy, ascending or erect on straight or curved stalks; seeds egg-shaped, tufted with whitish hairs at tips.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry prairies, rocky hillsides, and sandy, open woods, most abundant on chalk or limestone soils.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Toxicity

Very poisonous to livestock but is unpalatable and rarely consumed. It can cause problems when fed in hay.

Uses

Some Native American tribes used whorled milkweed medicinally to treat snakebites and throat and nose ailments.

Additional Notes